Afghanistan

Let us just get some of the excellent legislation passed such as: the scrapping of ID cards, the NIR, ContactPoint, the rolling back of DNA retention and terrorism powers and then it would be sensible to have another election.

Mr Cameron began by talking in clear sentences but is now beginning to equivocate and sound like Gordon Brown. He says that we shall withdraw from Afghanistan when we have trained enough Afghan police and soldiers: "We must continue to work with the Afghan army to create a stable Afghanistan able to maintain its own security and to prevent al-Qaida from returning."

This man will save the world?
Poor old Gordon Brown, there he is "getting on with the job" but the wicked world ignores him. The London Afghanistan Conference is in full swing but it's all eyes on a certain Mr Blair. So while Brown deals with the events of today unseen, Blair is waffling on with his version of history. And doing so in that politico-camp style that, as time drags on, makes him more enemies than friends. One of the best funny/sad things is watching celebrities grow old but not up; television is awash with such people. Blair having now spent so much time out of UK politics, a lot of it in the US, where these mannerisms he has perfected are more tolerated, looks and sounds too much like a 1980's rock star to be taken seriously any more. It's all well and good Bob Geldorf and Bono wanting to save the world but it's a hobby for them, they have day jobs. Blair wanting to save the world is all he's got, that's his act and it's wearing thin.

I'll tell you how I deal with plotters
Many people are rightly suspicious of the raising of the UK terror threat from whatever it was, to something higher at this moment in time. The Chilcot Inquiry is giving the government plenty of problems and, to boost his image at home, Gordon Brown is to host a conference on Afghanistan. What better back-drop could there be from the UK authorities to show to visiting conference attendees than - "we're ready for anything, are you"? All those pathetic nations that keep themselves to themselves and don't invade weaker nations would be put to shame on that one. There are, of course, problems with this theory.

First up, what was the terror threat? Words like “highly likely”, “severe”, “imminent” and "substantial" are waved about as if they are white flags; perhaps they are? One can imagine a bunker full of public servants deliberating long and hard on how to convey a clear message.

The EU's training of the Afghan police force that Our Leader states is so vital for any exit strategy is evidently in such a mess that it is having to be taken over by NATO, financed by the US. The New York Times tells us that:

Two and a half years after it was started, the European Union’s police training mission in Afghanistan is understaffed, lacks adequate security and transportation, and has yet to develop a uniform training program and ..... is a logistical nightmare.

Puma helicopter
Newspapers are carrying the story behind the verdict of the RAF helicopter crash during a training flight in August 2007 near Catterick. It makes very solemn reading as it suggests that the RAF were responsible for a gross failure of discipline. Not so many years ago the public perception of the police was an organisation that tried to give good service to the public. Over time that has declined to a point where many members of the public see the police as inept, corrupt and self serving.